Friday, May 11, 2007

Dammit, Enough with the Pirate Manuscripts!

Ooo, a hot new trend! Pirates are all the rage!

...in bookstores.

Which means that for publishers, who are looking at what the market will be like in a couple years, pirates are essentially over.

Couldn't I get some scary stories, please?

(But before you write some scary stories, go read a book or two in both the Goosebumps series and the Scary Stories to Read in the Dark series. And then contemplate how different they are--and how successful for two very close age levels. Tolerance of creepiness, just like sense of humor, develops rapidly between certain ages. Get it right.)

13 comments:

  1. Awesome tip! Thank you.

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  2. What about a pirate who's afraid of the dark?

    Or maybe something like, "The Pirate and the Big Green Glob."

    Or maybe...

    (Just wanted to see if I could make your head explode.)

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  3. I am so over Pirates.

    I'd like to see more books about Vikings.

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  4. I am about to stray into unchartered territory when I say this, but ... what about a pirate squirrel? Now that's pretty scary, isn't it?

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  5. I've been subbing a scary story for the last six months (I've nearly reached 40 submissions). I've had lots of good feedback but no bites yet. I guess I just haven't found the organisation with three people who all like the MS yet!

    Still, this gives me courage to keep going.

    Oh, and by the way, my story hasn't got any pirates (or squirrels).

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  6. Would you believe I just got ASSIGNED to write a story about a squirrel? A talking squirrel with a name that starts with S. Cross my heart.

    EA, how about answering those Qs a few posts down under Zen? We'll be your best friend!

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  7. I don't think I'll ever be over Pirates. Especially ones painted by N.C. Wyeth.

    Great blog, thanks for all the info!

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  8. I HAD a pirate manuscript in the works. This post moved me to move on.

    It wasn't Johnny Depp related, either. It was something I was genunely interested in. Maybe I'll come back to it in 10 years or so...

    Thanks for the advice!

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  9. You are dead wrong on the pirate thing. As long as there are children who read there will always be a market for pirate tales. It's up to writers and editors to find new and creative ways to spin the story.

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  10. If you have a pirate manuscript that you wrote because you have a terrific pirate story in your head, then yes, there will always be room for books like that. But writing anything because it seems like a hot trend is a bad idea.
    Glad we got that straight.

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  11. Agreed on the trend matter. I do believe I have the pirate manuscript of which you speak - wanna see it? Sorry, couldn't resist...:)

    Sam riddleburger, keep writing your pirate-based manuscript. Why? You said it yourself, "It was something I was genunely (sic) interested in." This is 88% of the battle. Don't wait 10 years, finish it now.

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  12. Yarker, thanks for the advice (and the proofreading).

    Speaking of great pirate stories, I recently read "Captain Slaughterboard" in "Peake's Progress."

    This is DIFFERENT than his picture book "Captain Slaughterboard Drops Anchor" and way too dark for children.

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